Andrián Pertout speaks to Passi
Jo about his life as an African troubadour and international performing
artist.

The Passi Jo 'Kass Kass Man' story begins in Congo-Kinshasa,
where the political turmoil of 1964 that engulfs the region initiates mass
repatriations, and his eventual return to his ancestral homeland in Congo-Brazzaville.
This is the setting for the revival of folklore, and the inspirational
stories of legendary African minstrels travelling from village to village
with their songs of love, hate, death and friendship, and this is also
where the fact of being a direct descendant of these 'Balari Troubadours'
ultimately compels him to embrace their legacy, and not forsake destiny
and tradition. With compositions based on Bas Congo rhythms such
as Wala and Patenge, the musical career of this songster is propagated,
firstly with album releases and performances in the Congo, to then include
the remainder of the African continent. In 1982 ambition directs
Passi Jo to Paris, and this European base becomes the stamping ground for
the chain of successful international tours that follow. A musical
revelation that introduces him to fans in most of Europe, North and South
America, Oceania and Africa, performing with renown artists such as Super
Boboto S.B.B., Trio Madjesi, Kass Kass, Abeti Masekini, Sam Mangwana, Essous
Jean Serges, Teo Blaise, Four Stars, Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau &
Afrisa International Orchestra and Mose Fan Fan. As a consequence
of an Australian tour in 1990, his natural attraction for the 'Great Southern
Land' originates the later decision to return to settle in 1993.
His latest release 'Les Hommes Voltigeurs' is his fifteenth album release
to date, and is an auspicious attempt to consolidate three decades of the
musical evolution of the 'Kass Kass Man'.

How did your musical career begin?

PJ: "To begin with, thanks for this interview.
I was born in Kinshasa, and when I was twelve years old, my mother was
repatriated to our homeland in Congo-Brazzaville, because of political
problems. Two months later I joined her, and there I started school,
and everything. Later in 1968 I started my musical career, before
that I was just playing with friends in the village, in the suburbs.
There was a band called 'Les Frères Siamois' (The Siamese Twins),
and this band's manager asked me to be the arranger of their lyrics, because
at that time people couldn't sing correctly in Lingala (a major Bantu language
of the northern Congolese region), in the Congo. And one day he invited
me come to their rehearsal, and because I already knew their songs the
manager said to me, 'Can you try to sing!' And I said, 'Yes!'
And when I sang, everybody got excited and they said, 'From today you are
going to sing in the band, because you have a good voice.' That's
the way I started singing."

Music has a varying significance from culture
to culture. What is the meaning of music in Africa?

PJ: "Usually, in my country, the Congo, and in
Congo-Kinshasa, people sing anywhere and everywhere, when they are working
on the farms, when there is a party, when there is a funeral, or a family
meeting, or a ceremonial occasion. Singing is a pleasure in my country,
like in all of Africa. Anything that they are doing, the music accompanies,
music means a lot in Africa. I come from a family of artists, my
mother sang and danced traditional southern Congolese folklore, my father
played accordion in the church, and my auntie played acoustic guitar in
the salvation army, so music was very important in my family, like it is
for all families in Africa."

In 1982 you moved to Paris, becoming your European
base for best part of the next decade. How would you describe the
music scene there?

PJ: "I decided to go to Paris to pursue my musical
career there, and to record, because in the Congo, at that time we didn't
have good recording and production facilities. That's why I left
the Congo and went to Paris. And when I got there, a country I had
never been to before, it was very difficult to start from the beginning,
but with a bit of luck I found friends who introduced me to people in the
music scene. At first I started with my traditional and modern music,
and because of seeing a lot of different artists there, I worked hard to
mix my music with the music of other countries, and then I got the best
sound. In Paris there was a lot of different music of the world,
like Salsa from Latin America, Zouk from the Caribbean, Soca from Mauritius,
Makossa from Cameroon, Djiglibiti from the Ivory Coast, Gota from Benin,
and rock, jazz, funk…"

Tell me about your style of African music.
Do you use a combination of traditional and western instruments?

PJ: "Yes, sometimes I use the sanza or likembe
(mbira or thumb piano), a type of African harp, balafon (xylophone) and
ntsakala, a kind of shaker made from a can, which has holes punched all
over it and is filled with stones or pebbles. We have another instrument
in my country with a calabash body, a short or long neck and two strings,
and another made of a goat's horn. I combine all these instruments
with guitar, bass, drums and brass. The style is traditional African
music, Congolese folk. In the Congo there are many ethnic folk styles,
and my style is based on the music of South Congo, which is where my mother's
village is situated. This style is called Wala of Bas Congo."

You have performed from Zimbabwe to Holland, USA
to Colombia and Russia to Australia. What are some of your most memorable
performances around the globe?

PJ: "One of my favourite performances was at the
Zimbabwe Stadium, it was extraordinary. In Zimbabwe they love music,
and in Senegal, and in different countries like Colombia. They had
a festival there in Cartagena, it was fantastic. We played together
with different musicians, Cuban, Caribbean, American and African musicians,
it was unbelievable. In Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), when
I was very young, I was part of a festival organized for the boxing match
between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, and a lot of musicians from around
the world took part, Ray Barretto, Mario Pacheco, Manu Dibango, Celia Cruz,
James Brown, José Feliciano and Santana. I played here with
'Veve de Verckys', and was able to meet a lot of these musicians back stage.
This was a great experience, to meet the best musicians in the world.
In Congo-Brazzaville I was in a band called 'Super Boboto' S.B.B., and
we played with Trio Madjesi, one of the best bands in Africa. With
my band 'Kass Kass' and Abeti Masekini we played together with Baba Maal
and Youssou N'Dour in Senegal, Mahlathini Queens in Burkina Faso.
In Liberia, Zimbabwe and London we played with Sam Mangwana, and in France
and Ethiopia with Essous Jean Serges and Teo Blaise. Washington,
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago were also favourites. In Los
Angeles I played with the 'Four Stars' and Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau
& Afrisa International Orchestra, in London with Mose Fan Fan, in Colombia
with Coupé Cloué, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo
with Franco."

Tell me about your latest compilation album.
From what sources is the music taken from?

PJ: "My first compilation was 'Kass Kass Connection',
and that album didn't have a lot of old songs on it, so now I have taken
the best from each of the albums I have produced in the past, to come up
with the very best of the history of Passi Jo, 'Kass Kass Tout'.
All my fans, from different countries, have supported me for a long time,
so I wanted to come up with something for all of them."

Do you have any set plans for the future?

PJ: "At this time I have a lot of projects, in
Australia and in the rest of the world. With the business relationships
that I have created so far, I have many opportunities. I am planning
to tour Australia for the first time as 'Passi Jo', commencing in Melbourne,
it will be unbelievable. The date is not set yet, but it will be
around October, and after this I plan to continue, to tour Europe, and
if possible I will also include Africa and America."